Yarn treating jet



F. J. CLENDENING, JR.. ETAL July 19, 1966 Filed May 25. 1965 YARN TREATING JET 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 kiw July 19, 1966 F. J. CLENDENING, JR.. ETAL 3,261,071

YARN TREATING JET 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 25. 1965 July 1966 F. J. CLENDENING. JR. ETAL 3,261,071

YARN TREATING JET Filed May 25. 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent YARN TREATING JET Francis Joseph Clendening, Jr., and Joseph Cyril Osborne,

both ofWilmington, DeL, assignors to E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, DeL, a corporation of Delaware Filed May 25, 1965, Ser. No. 463,459 4 Claims. (Cl. 28-1) This application is a continuation-in-part of our application, Serial No. 298,232, filed July 29, 1963, now abandoned.

This invention relates to a novel and useful apparatus for the treatment of filamentary material. More particularly, it relates to a novel and useful apparatus for the fluid treatment of filamentary material under carefully controlled and uniform conditions.

Useful methods have been devised in the textile industry for improving the bulk, covering power and elongation of continuous filament yarns. A well-known process for making stretch yarn involves the steps of twisting, heatsetting and then backtwisting to a low final twist level. Another commercial method of improving bulk involves the steps of twisting, heat-setting and backtwisting on-therun using false-twisting apparatus. The end product can be further modified by hot relaxing to improve the bulk and handle. Another bulk yarn is prepared by the wellknown stutter-box technique in which the yarn is steamed to heat-set while it is in a compressed state in the stufler box. These methods provide a light-fluffy yarn without resorting to the older staple spinning systems and with the advantage of producing stronger yarns.

The common element of the above methods is the use of mechanical means to deform the yarn in conjunction with heat-setting to fix the configuration of the filaments. An entirely new technique involving pneumatic means for improving the bulk of continuous filament yarns became available with the disclosure in US. 2,783,609 by Breen. The Breen yarns are characterized by the presence of numerous crunodal filament loops spaced randomly along the'length. In another fluid process of Hallden et al. US. 3,005,251, the bulk and dyeability of a yarn is enhanced by jetting the moving yarn against an obstacle surface with a plasticizing fluid stream such as steam.

, When filaments or yarns are being treated with fluids at elevated temperatures, as in the process disclosed in Dahlstrom and Wert US. 3,069,836, British 905,895 or Betsch US. 3,142,147, the temperature and pressure of the fluid in the treating chamber is important to the uniformity of bulk, dyeability and other properties of the treated fibers. Variations within each treating unit lead to variations along the length of yarn. Such variations in fluid temperature and pressure occur due to fluctuations in the heat loss and pressure surges along the piping from the fluid heaterto the yarn treating apparatus. Similarly, differences among each of several treating devices create differences among the yarns produced. The heat losses and pressure variations in the piping by which a treating fluid is distributed from a common source to each of several treating devices result in differences in the temperatures of the fluid streams in the individual devices, even though thermal'insulation may be used to minimize the heat loss. Obviously, it is desirable to reduce losses and use heat efficiently.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a fluid-treating apparatus which will provide a uniform filamentary material.

This and other objects will become more apparent in the course of the following specification and claims.

In accordance with these objects there is provided an apparatus for fluid treatment of continuous filamentary material comprising in combination a frame having a fluid inlet means, passage means associated with said frame defining a passage for said filamentary material, fluid conduit means operatively connecting said fluid inlet means and said passage means for introducing fluid along the length of said filamentary material as it passes through said passage means, and heating means within said frame in operative association with said fluid conduit means for heating said frame and said fluid prior to contact of the fluid with said filamentary material.

In another embodiment of this invention there is provided an apparatus for fluid treatment of continuous filamentary material comprising a body member having fluid inlet means and an essentially flat surface and a channeled cover removably mounted over the said surface, the said body member and cover together cooperating to form an enclosed passage having a yarn inlet opening and yarn exit opening at the extreme ends of the said passage, a slot between the said body member and the said cover along the entire length of the said passage from the edge of the said cover to the said passage for lacing of the yarn within and through the said passage, fluid conduit means operatively connected with the said passage between said inlet and outlet openings for introducing fluid along the length of the filaments, and heating means Within the said body member disposed to heat the said fluid and the said body member.

In addition to providing for the uniform treatment of the filamentary material, this latter embodiment of the invention provides for ready accessibility to the treating passage for lacing of the yarn, cleaning and replacement. The string-up operation for a plurality of yarns is much easier and quicker than with individual treating jets for each yarn. By its compact form, the assembly enables treatment of a multiplicity of yarns in much less space than would be required for treatment of each yarn. The form of the device also permits economical fabrication of complex yarn treating passages.

The accompanying drawings depict the various embodiments of this invention.

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of one form of the invention with a single yarn passing through the apparatus.

FIGURE 2 is a vertical cross-section along the thread line in the apparatus of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of another form of the invention, also showing auxiliary apparatus for lacing several yarns to commence operation and means to receive the treated yarn during operation.

FIGURE 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the yamtreating apparatus of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of still another useful form of the invention in normal closed operating position, with the position for string-up of yarns illustrated in a phantom diagram.

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of an alternate form of the invention with a single yarn passing through the apparatus.

FIGURE 7 is a vertical cross-section taken along the threadline in the apparatus of FIGURE 6.

The principal elements of the yarn-treating apparatus of FIGURE 1 is a frame having a fixed body member 11 and a removable cover 12 attached to the body by a screw fastener 13 and aligned in proper position by dowel pins 14. In the assembly of the apparatus, the face of the cover plate 12 is spaced apart from the opposing face of body member 11 by a projection bearing against the body to provide egress to the threadline 10 through a slot 15. The cover plate 12 may be removed for replacement or cleaning simply by loosening screw 13 and withdrawing it from body 11.

The faces of the body and cover may be curved but the slot must be unobstructed and accessible so that a yarn may be introduced into the slot. The slot need only be wide enough to permit the filaments to be laced into the apparatus. An opening no wider than .020 inch will accommodate IOOO-denier continuous filament yarns without difliculty. As a yarn is moved through the slot 15, the filament bundle tends to flatten into a ribbon and then resumes its normal bundle form on entry in the treating passage 16.

The arrangement of typical fluid treating means within the apparatus is shown in FIGURE 2. A treating fluid such as air or steam enters body member 11 through fluid inlet means 17 passing in contact with controlled electrical heater 18 from whence it passes to conduit 20 and impinges upon the threadline in passage 16. Treating passage 16 is recessed in the face of cover 12 and, in this illustration, is of the configuration for making a bulky yarn as disclosed in Hallden US. 3,084,- 413. The treatment is illustrated in FIGURE 1 in which moving yarn enters passage 16 at the top, is subjected to the fluid stream and discharges from the bottom.

This embodiment is particularly advantageous in that it involves no moving parts. It presents a departure from the prior art in that the temperature of the treating fluid is controlled by internal heating means and the treating passage does not completely surround the threadline. The yarn is conveyed and treated by the fluid stream with substantially no digression from the thread path, even when highly overfed in a bulking process. It is possible to operate this apparatus without appreciable lateral flow of fluid in slot 15. Further, under process conditions of high pressure or temperature, the tendency of the body or cover members to warp does not interfere with the ability of the apparatus to function.

The apparatus of this invention may be fabricated as a compact unitary assembly which is readily installed or removed from its operating position in alignment with the threadline. Fitted with an appropriate coupling 27 for the fluid inlet means 17 and a connector 28 for the heater 18, the assembly is manually positioned in front of the mating connectors on the processing machine and pushed into place. Devices for making rapid piping or electrical connections by simple push-pull motions are readily available. Bolts or other fasteners are used to secure the assembly in proper alignment and mechanically support it.

The various known processes for treating yarn with a fluid such as disclosed in Breen US. 2,783,609, Bunting and Nelson US. 2,985,995, Breen and Sussman US. 3,- 009,309 and others, may be accomplished in this apparatus. The yarn passages shown in this application are illustrative and any useful configuration may be incorporated in the apparatus. The fluid conduits may intercept the threadline at any selected angle and, if desired, orifices may be inserted in the conduits to regulate the flow of treating fluid into the individual treating passages. The heating means may be an electrical heater or hot vapor, acting as a heat transfer agent, circulating within the body member and cover parts. In FIGURES 1 and 2, an electrical heater 18 is shown fitted into body member 11; heat may also be applied in similar manner to cover 12. A suitable control, not shown, may be employed to regulate the temperature of the apparatus. Thermal insulation may also be applied to the apparatus to minimize temperature deviations and to minimize heat transfer between the apparatus and its surroundings.

Another embodiment is illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 4, in which the cover member 12 is movable in a perpendicular direction While maintaining a parallel attitude with respect to the face of the fixed body member 11. Body member 11, containing fluid inlet 17 and conduit for the treating fluid, is rigidly mounted on a bracket and is heated by means of condensation of a circulating heat transfer agent, such as the vapors of diphenyl-diphenyl oxide mixture, in chamber 19. In this instance, a pneumatic system for movement of the cover is illustrated. The cover 12 is supported and actuated by piston rods 33 and 34. In a closed or operating position, shown in FIGURE 4, air pressure on pistons 43 and 44 in cylinder housing 45 exerts a force on piston rods 33 and 34 which is distributed evenly over the area of cover 12, pressing the cover into direct contact with body member 11, causing the cover to conform closely to the body and, in turn sealing the edges of the yarn passages. The enclosed passage is generally desirable when relatively high pressures, e.g., up to 200 p.s.i.g. or more are required within the treating passage. However, it is possible to maintain positive pressures with the cover held at a slight distance from the body, thus providing the slot embodied in FIGURES 1 and 2.

The preferred system for actuating the cover is one that is capable of imparting a back-and-forth in-line motion. In the example of FIGURE 4, pistons 43 are single-acting and only exert force against the cover to maintain a closed or operating position. Piston 44 is a double-acting cylinder which, when properly manipulated, also causes the cover to draw away from the fixed body. Other devices can be substituted to provide movement for the cover. The hydraulic or pneumatic system provides a convenient means of regulating pressure and is rapid in action. Several mechanical means are adaptable such as a screw, rack and pinion, e-am or lever. An electrical solenoid or magnetic device will also serve.

In FIGURE 3, apparatus for treating four yarns simultaneously is shown. However, this device can be fabricated with any desired number of yarn passages, ranging from a single passageway to four as shown or eight or more. It is generally most convenient to process a band or warp of yarns in a. planar arrangement. It is also more economical to make the body 11 and cover 12 in the form of flat plates. If, for some reason, it is desirable to arrange the threadlines in a staggered or curved array, this requirement can be met by making the body and cover to conform. The threadlines need not be parallel; they may converge or diverge in fan-shaped fashion. Further, it is not necessary that the mating surfaces be contiguous over their entire area. The edges of the yarn passages may be raised or have interengaging lips to assure a positive mechanical seal between the two parts.

FIGURE 3 also illustrates a method of lacing the apparatus to begin the yarn treatment. After the apparatus has been installed in the threadline and the flow of treating fluid started, a bundle of running yarns is led into a sucker gun or other appropriate portable stringup device 32. The yarns 10 are threaded through pins 30 and between the opposing surfaces of the body 11 and cover 12, now in the open position. Each yarn is properly aligned in the treating passages 16 and the cover plate 12 then moved into the closed or operating position. The yarns are finally directed to a package windup or other takeup, such as foraminous belt 35 in this diagram. In FIGURE 3, a pin 31 has been installed at the side of the apparatus to provide a temporary guide to facilitate the lacing of each yarn into its treating passage.

FIGURE 5 illustrates still another form of the invention embodying a fixed body 11 with fluid supply and a cover 12 with passages 16 for treating a plurality of yarns 10. The cover 12 is attached to slide bar which is capable of back-and-forth movement within guide 51. Thus, the cover may be moved laterally away from the body while maintaining a parallel position. By separating the cover from the body to a position shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 5, a plurality of yarns running in a warp may be laced into the recessed passages in the cover and the cover moved back into operating position. If desired, thread guides may be used to facilitate the lacing operation. In this embodiment, cover 12 and its supporting slide bar 50 may be readily removed from the apparatus for rapid replacement, cleaning or repair.

It may be desired to use other configurations of fluid treatment passages of the prior art for processing yarns at regulated temperatures, ranging from the simple tabular passage of FIGURE 1 of Breen US 2,783,609 to the openable devices of Bauer US. 2,938,257 and Cormier et al. US. 2,995,801 and the more complex devices of Becher U.S. 3,097,412., Hallden US. 3,005,251, Head US. 2,884,- 756 and Pool U.S. 2,982,002. The comp-act assembly of this invention may incorporate such apparatus for yarn processing, as illustrated in FIGURE 6. In this assembly, the principal elements of the yarn treating apparatus is a frame having a fixed body member 60 and removable hollow block 61 fitted with a tubular passage 62 having an upper portion 63 and lower portion 64, secured to the face of body 60 with screw fasteners 65. As shown in FIGURE 7, tubular passage 62 has a conical upper portion 63 which is spaced from a corresponding conical'throat 66 in the lower portion 64 of tubular passage 62. The interior surfaces of the portions 63 and 64 are tapered so as to form a venturi for passage of the yarn to be treated. The cavity in block 61 provides a chamber 67 which receives the heated fluid discharging from conduit 68 and serves as a reservoir for the fluid flowing through the annular passage between conical upper portion 63 and throat 66 into the yarn treatment passage. As stated above, other configurations of the yarn treatment passage may be provided in this apparatus. This embodiment also has the advantage of heating the treating fluid, maintaining temperature within the yarn treating device and providing ease of access and removal for servicing of the element containing the yarn treatment passage.

Various readily available materials may be used in the construction of the apparatus of this invention. Low or high carbon hardened tool steels, hardened stainless steel, and case-hardened, nitrided steels are suitable materials of construction. Alloys of brass, bronze, nickel-ironchromium-phosphorus, copper-silicon, copper-nickel, titanium, and cobalt may be employed. Clad, laminated, nitrided, and sintered metals as well as minerals such as steatite and corundum also prove acceptable as materials of construction. Various ceramics, metallized ceramics, porcelains, glasses, and synthetic polymeric materials may also be utilized. The cover and body member may be chromium or nickel plated or may be coated with an oxide of aluminum, chromium, silicon, beryllium, or titanium, a carbide of tungsten, chromium, titanium, silicon, or boron, a boride of zirconium or titanium, or an organic material of fluorinated hydrocarbons, especially polytetrafiuoroethylene. The above materials may be used for the entire construction of the apparatus or simply at selected wear points along the thread path.

Similarly, the components may be fabricated by conventional methods. When flat surfaces are use in the 0pposing faces of the body member and cover, they may be produced by grinding or lapping. The contours of the treating passages or curved surfaces for the body and cover may be produced by casting, molding, or coining methods, as Well as by machining.

Many equivalent modifications will be apparent to thos'e skilled in the art from a reading of the above With.- Out a departure from the inventive concept,

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for fluid treatment of continuous filamentary material comprising in combination a frame having a fluid inlet means, passage means associated with said frame defining a passage for said filamentary material, fluid conduit means operatively connecting said fluid inlet means and said passage means for introducing fluid along the length of said filamentary material as it passes through said passage means, and heating means within said frame in operative association with said fluid conduit means for heating said frame and said fluid prior to contact of the fluid With said filamentary material.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the heating means is electrically operated.

3. An apparatus for fluid treatment of continuous filamentary material comprising a body member having a fluid inlet means, tubular passage means associated with said body member defining a passage for said filamentary material, said tubular passage means having a yarn inlet opening and a yarn exit opening at the extreme ends of said tubular passage mean-s, fluid contact means operatively connecting said fluid inlet means and said passage means for introducing fluid along the length of said filamentary material as it passes through said tubular passage means, and heating means within said body member in operative association with said fluid conduit means for heating said body member and said fluid prior to contact of the fluid with said filamentary material.

4. An apparatus for fluid treatment of continuous filamentary material comprising a body member having fluid inlet means and an essentially flat surface and a channeled cover removably mounted over the said surface, the said body member and cover together coop'erating to form an enclosed passage having a yarn inlet opening and yarn exit opening at the extreme end of the said passage, a slot between the said body member and the said cover along the entire length of the said passage from the edge of the said cover to the said passage for lacing of the yarn within and through the said passage, fluid conduit means operatively connected with the said passage between said inlet and outlet openings for introducing fluid along the length of the filaments, and heating means within the said body member in operative association with said fluid conduit means for heating said .body member and said fluid prior to contact of the fluid with said filamentary material.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,938,256 5/1960 Bauer et al. 281 2,938,257 5/1960 Bauer 281 2,990,671 7/ 1961 Bunting et a1 5734 2,995,801 8/1961 Cormier et al. 57-34 3,005,251 10/1961 Hallden et al. 5734 3,110,151 11/1963 Bunting et al. 28-72. 3,115,691 12/1963 Bunting et a1. 281

FOREIGN PATENTS 646,863 8/1962 Canada.

DONALD W. PARKER, Primary Examiner.

L. K. RIMRODT, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN APPARATUS FOR FLUID TREATMENT OF CONTINUOUS FILAMENTARY MATERIAL COMPRISING IN COMBINATION A FRAME HAVING A FLUID INLET MEANS, PASSAGE MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID FRAME DEFINING A PASSAGE FOR SAID FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, FLUID CONDUIT MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTING SAID FLUID INLET MEANS AND SAID PASSAGE MEANS FOR INTRODUCING FLUID ALONG THE LENGTH OF SAID FILAMENTARY MATERIAL AS IT PASSES THROUGH SAID PASSAGE MEANS, AND HEATING MEANS WITHIN SAID FRAME IN OPERATIVE ASSOCIATION WITH SAID FLUID 